Mooney shrugs off sickness in yet another gutsy knock

A rude awakening in the early hours of Tuesday morning had Beth Mooney and the Australians seriously doubting whether the star opener would be able to take the field in the T20 series decider in Hobart.

But in typical Mooney fashion, she brushed off a suspected bout of food poisoning to hit a match-winning 82 off just 55 balls to secure a series win over South Africa.

What had started as a rare opportunity to have dinner and a catch up with mate Molly Strano in Hobart on Monday evening took a swift downward turn just hours later – a detail that only came to light during Mooney’s superb knock.

"(I felt) pretty unwell, not my best day as a human being, I’ll put that out there," Mooney said on broadcast following the game. 

"At about 4am I started feeling a bit ill … I proceeded to spend the next six or seven hours very unwell. 

"Not until about 3 o’clock did I think I was playing tonight."

The half-century was Mooney’s second of the series, but it was scored in markedly different fashion.

Where she had been bogged down early during the first T20I in Canberra, eventually finding her grove late in an unbeaten 72 from 57 balls, Mooney was on song almost from ball one on Tuesday.

She cleared the rope in the fourth over of Australia’s chase and her free-flowing innings kept the hosts on track in their pursuit of 163 even as regular wickets fell at the other end.

If this story sounds familiar, there is a good reason for that.

In India in December 2022, Mooney overcame a "pretty grim" few days batting a severe stomach-related illness to score 89 from 57 balls at DY Patil Stadium, guiding Australia to their target of 173 – their biggest chase in the format. 

Mooney has made a habit of rising to the challenge when below her best physically, notably with her match-winning 65 that sealed Brisbane Heat’s first WBBL title in 2019, and when she played a key hand both with the bat and in the field in the 2022 Ashes Test in Canberra – just two weeks after breaking her jaw.

Mooney’s captain Alyssa Healy had no shortage of praise for her opening partner after the match while she also revealed just how close the left-hander had come to being ruled out of the game.

"I've heard (it was) maybe a dodgy sashimi," Healy said. 

"I messaged her this afternoon probably about one o'clock and said, 'Are you alright?', and she sent me back a selfie of her lying in bed.

"There was a real possibility that she wouldn't play and we had a plan in place if she didn't, but she got to the ground and had a good warm up and felt like she was able to contribute so that was handy.

"She played and missed at the first three balls and then didn't look like she missed the middle after that. 

"Her consistency in in a format that's really hard to be consistent is quite remarkable and knowing that she was a little bit under the weather as well is extra special."

Women's CommBank T20I Series v South Africa

First T20: Australia won by eight wickets

Second T20: South Africa won by six wickets

January 30: Australia won by five wickets

Women's CommBank ODI Series v South Africa

February 3: First ODI, Adelaide Oval, 2.10pm

February 7: Second ODI, North Sydney Oval, 2.40pm

February 10: Third ODI, North Sydney Oval, 2.40pm

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris*, Jess Jonassen, Alana King**, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham *T20s only | **ODIs only

South Africa squad (T20Is & ODIs): Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker 

Women's CommBank Test Match v South Africa

February 15-18: Only Test, WACA Ground, Perth 11.00am